


The Dragon's Capture

by Lets_go_to_vermont



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Gen, akayonabigbang, but not really, just a cute lil short story, sort of ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 13:58:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8535853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_go_to_vermont/pseuds/Lets_go_to_vermont
Summary: Medieval AU- Prince Soo-Won was kidnapped by a dragon. His strongest knight, Hak, is coming to his rescue.





	

_ “There was once a time when the dragons of this land were fierce and aggressive, they besieged the lands and the people of Kouka lived in fear. Then, the fire dragon Hiryuu, the strongest of all dragons, made peace with the people of Kouka.” _

 

Duke Hak of the Wind County watched in boredom as the street performers reenacted the tale of the dragon king Hiryuu. While the many dancers moving expertly in their fantastic costumes and controlling fire was impressive, Hak had seen it many times. He felt a pair of small legs swing against his upper chest. Tae-Yeon, Hak’s younger brother, giggled and watched in amazement from Hak’s shoulders.

 

The performance, Hak noticed, was the same one that was put on every year for as long as he could remember. The largest, strongest dancer would be in a bright red costume, indicating he was Hiryuu. The Dragon Warriors, the servants of Hiryuu, would also be in bright colorful costumes, and the humans would be small, just to give contrast to the imbalance between the two. Hak knew it was mostly exaggerated, but he still couldn’t help but wonder if dragons were actually that much stronger than humans. He had never seen any, but knew that they lived secluded in the mountains in the northern part of Kouka. He had heard Duke Geun-Tae’s many expeditions to fight dragons, but had never seen them closer than when they flew at the mountaintops at dusk.

 

The actor playing Hiryuu finished the final move, where he fell to the ground with his warriors beside him. The huge crowd gathered around cheered loudly as the actors broke out of their roles and bowed. Hak turned and walked away from the huge crowd as Tae-Yeon hummed the tune that had played.

 

“What did you think?” Hak asked, unable to see the face of his brother.

 

“It was amazing, Hak! Did you see what they did with the fire?” Tae-Yeon replied. Hak grunted in agreement. He was glad that Tae-Yeon enjoyed himself. This was the first year that Tae-Yeon had been able to attend the Dragon Festival. Every year before this one, he had been ill.

 

Tae-Yeon squeezed his arms around Hak’s head. “Hey Hak, do you think that the dragons are good?” Hak almost stopped walking. He hadn’t expected that question. He had often considered how strong they were, but not if they were good or evil.

 

“Hmm. I don’t know, I’ll guess I’ll have to meet one and see.” Hak said slowly. Tae-Yeon started humming again as Hak continued weaving through the crowd. Though he knew he would never meet a dragon, he knew that Tae-Yeon was happy with his answer.

 

He headed through the uneven dirt streets towards Hiryuu Castle, the largest building in Kuuto, maybe even all of Kouka. This year’s festival was a special one not only because it was Tae-Yeon’s first one, but also because Prince Soo-Won had completed his Rites of Ascent and was going to present the Showing of Honor to the kingdom.

 

The Rites of Ascent were easy to complete. He just had to show the five dukes he had sufficient knowledge, strength, and diplomacy to run Kouka. The Showing of Honor, however, required the successor to the throne to give a show of respect to the deceased king. If it was a natural or accidental death, then the crown prince would hold a grand funeral and mourning time. If it was a murder, however, the crown prince would be expected to avenge the previous king’s death. Everyone was curious about what this Showing of Honor would entail, seeing as the circumstances surrounding Yu-Hon’s death was extremely confusing. His Majesty had gone out on a trip to visit the five different counties, only to disappear. After extensive searching by the prince, Yu-Hon had been declared dead.

 

“Hey, Hak, leave the little guy with us and get up there where you’re supposed to be!” Sir Tae-Woo yelled excitedly from where he stood with Hak’s weapon of choice, a glaive. Sir Han-Dae, his companion knight stood beside him with a large pewter cup of beer.

 

“Don’t you two pass out on the job; you still have to be on your guard.” Hak said as he lifted Tae-Yeon from his shoulders and gently set him on the ground.

 

“Hey, Hak, don’t be such a party pooper. Like anything is gonna happen. Besides, the two of us are an unbeatable team.” Han-Dae laughed as he threw his arm around Tae-Woo’s shoulder and lifted his cup.

 

Hak walked through the crowd into the outside walls of Hiryuu Castle. He passed the prince’s personal guards and entered the chamber that connected to the outside balcony.

 

There, Prince Soo-Won was adjusting his long cloak. Upon the announcement that Hak had entered the room, Soo-Won turned and smiled. “Ahh, Duke Hak. You’re here. That means that everyone has arrived now.”

 

Hak looked around the room at the other four dukes. They, in contrast to Soo-Won, seemed to all be frowning. Hak assumed they felt the same confusion he did. Hak went and stood in the corner of the room to wait until the start of the ceremony. Duke Geun-Tae made his way over to Hak and gripped his sword by the hilt.

 

“What do you say after this we give a little show to everybody?”  He grinned.

 

Hak smirked in response and adjusted his glaive. “Only if you don’t mind being embarrassed again.”

 

Kye-Sook, the royal advisor, spoke lowly to Soo-Won. Soo-Won turned to his dukes and smiled. Then Kye-Sook announced the dukes and Soo-Won. The crowd roared in approval as Soo-Won stepped out on the large balcony. After all, he was the handsome son of an excellent king, and though he wasn’t nearly as severe as his father, the people still had a lot of faith in him.

 

He shrewdly looked over the crowd. Hak couldn’t help but think how strongly he resembled the previous king, Yu-Hon, in that moment. At Soo-Won’s side, Kye-Sook stood holding a medium sized wooden chest.

 

Inexplicably, the crowd’s shouts of adoration and encouragement turned to screams of terror. Hak turned to where they were staring at. Fast approaching from the west was a large beast that Hak had thought he’d never encounter in his entire life.

 

A dragon.

 

It was long and slender, like a white snake with wings and had very large claws. He heard exclamations of disbelief from around him, and then sprang into action. He jumped on the balcony railing and then onto the roof itself. He ran to meet the dragon head on. He didn’t know what it wanted, but he doubted it was here for a friendly visit. Hak was almost within striking distance of the dragon. Suddenly, the dragon changed directions sharply and struck the roof of the castle with his massive claws. The roof began to collapse, and Hak couldn’t react before he fell through the roof. He luckily didn’t hurt himself too badly in the fall, but had to dig his way out of the rubble. He quickly made his way back where Soo-Won was. The crown prince was nowhere to be found, though. Instead, the other four dukes were very badly injured and lying around. Hak grabbed Kye-Sook.

 

“Where is the prince? Why did that dragon appear?” Kye-Sook looked shaken still, but still answered.

 

“The dragon took the prince. As to why, look in that chest.” Kye-Sook gestured to the chest he had been holding earlier. Hak walked over to it and lifted the lid.

 

Inside, much to his horror, was a large heart.

 

“That’s the heart of the dragon that Prince Soo-Won slayed. He was the one responsible for His Majesty’s death. That dragon must have come for retribution.”

__

Two hours later, Hak and his noble steed Raiden left Kuuta as dusk approached. Seeing as his fellow dukes were all severely injured, he alone was to try to find the dragon and Soo-Won. Once Hak located the dragon, he would take the dragon by surprise and rescue the prince. Kye-Sook and Hak both agreed that if the dragon had wanted to kill Soo-Won,he would have instead of kidnapping him. He had something planned for Soo-Won that Hak hoped to put a stop to before it even started.

 

The hard part would be finding the dragon. He knew that they were in the northern mountains, but their exact location threw him off. He planned to go the lands in the northeast then follow the range back down until he found Soo-Won. It wasn’t the most efficient plan, but it was the only one that would work.

 

Hak arrived at a small village on the northeast coast three and a half days later at dusk. He had never been here before, but knew it was one of the few settlements close to the mountain range. The village was big for being in the Fire County, but it was on the border and had a port. Hak got very strange looks when he first entered town. He assumed that there must not be very many travelers that came through on horseback.

 

Soon, though, he noticed that there was something off about the small village. The people there seemed to be downtrodden.

 

Hak approached the center of the small village. In the middle of it was a large stone pillar with an elderly woman bent down in front of it. Hak was close enough to see the intricate carving of a dragon on the stone tablet. The dragon was slim, like the one that had abducted Prince Soo-Won, but had large horns and menacing spikes on its tail.

 

The elderly lady that kneeled in front of the pillar stood and faced Hak. “Rather magnificent, isn’t he?” Hak realized he had been staring intently at the pillar. “Hiryuu has always watched over us.”

 

Hak recognized the name. “Hiryuu, as in the dragon that signed a treaty with Kouka?”

 

The woman smiled. “He was Hiryuu, but Hiryuu is the name of the king of dragons.”

 

“King of dragons?” Hak asked.

 

“Hmm. You think that only humans need a ruler?”

 

Hak didn’t answer that, and instead completely changed the subject. “Why does everyone here seem so downtrodden?”

 

“Usually, the dragons that live nearby keep our small village safe. They fly over once a day and no one will bother us. However, they haven’t been by since the snow stopped, and now enemies from the north have started pillaging our ports. What little wealth we had is now gone.”

 

Hak thought it strange that the dragons were this close to people, however, the fact that they were so close was a good sign that he made the right decision by coming this way.

 

“Do you know where the dragons are?”

 

“They are in the mountains. Though, if you want to find the dragons, you might want to go to Hiryuu’s nest. All dragons converge there. But, child, just know that no mortal man can stand to a dragon in a fight. They are mostly peaceful, but won’t let themselves be attacked.”

 

Hak ignored that last statement. “Where is Hiryuu’s nest?”

 

“I’m not entirely sure, the only way to get there is to be taken there by a dragon. But I’m sure if you mean no harm and you find one to ask, they’ll take you. The hard part is finding one who is in their human form.”

 

“Human form?” Hak questioned.

 

“Every dragon has a human form. It’s how they walk among us and communicate with us.”

 

“You know a lot about dragons.”

 

“Don’t sound so suspicious, child, anyone in this town would be able to answer your questions. We hear more about the dragon politics than we do human ones.”

 

“I didn’t realize you knew so much about dragons, Madam Hana.” Hak quickly locked eyes with the girl who had approached them.

 

“Yona, dear, it’s been far too long. How are you?” She had on the usual garb of a commoner, a long dress with a white undergown and a brown travelling cloak. The dress was the same vibrant crimson as her hair. She was pretty, and definitely didn’t look like she was from this country.

 

“Sorry, Madam, you know it’s a far journey. Plus, my father fell ill, so I try to stay with him as much as possible.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear about your father. I don’t believe I’ve met him, though.”

 

“Probably not. He’s very shy and hates travelling.” Yona smiled slightly as she stared off. She shook her head and faced Hak. “Anyways, hello, sir. I’m Yona.” She curtsied.

 

“Hak.” He nodded.

 

She looked at Raiden. “Do you mind if I pet him?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“So what brings you to town, dear?” Hana asked. “Picking up supplies?”

 

“Actually, I’m here to meet with a family friend. He should be arriving soon.” Yona bit her lip and brushed her hand on Raiden’s mane.

 

“So why do you want to find the dragons, Hak?”

 

“Personal reasons,” was all Hak answered.

 

Yona huffed a little. “Don’t tell me then,” she said as she puffed out her cheeks.

 

Hak snickered a little. She resembled a squirrel in that moment.

 

“I better hurry and meet with him. I hope he hasn’t been waiting long.” She bowed to both Hak and Hana and hurried off towards the sea.

 

“Poor dear. She lives in the mountains with just her ill father. I’m glad she’s meeting with her friends. She’s so sweet, but she needs someone to look out for her.” Hana spoke quietly.

 

Hak agreed, she was very tiny, and Hak couldn’t imagine that she could protect herself.

 

“So, Sir Hak. Would you like to rest here for the night and head for the mountains in the morning? I’m sure life as a knight is very tiring. You look like you could use a hot meal and a good night’s sleep.” Hak was not surprised that Hana had figured out he had a rank. He wasn’t hiding it.

 

“I’d actually enjoy that. Thank you.” He had been travelling with only a few breaks a day. Both he and Raiden could use a night’s rest.

 

After following Hana to her house close to the docks and tying up Raiden, Hak enjoyed the meager meal that Hana fed him. It wasn’t as nice as the food he had at the castle or at Fuuga, but it was filling and warm.

 

Hana told him a little about the town. People had been living there for many generations, and they had always been close to the dragons. In the past, many of them would come interact with the townsfolk. However, the both current and previous dragon kings didn’t like interacting with humans and ordered the dragons not to reveal themselves to humans.

 

Hak reflected on it as he laid on the cot that Hana laid down for him. He felt confident that he could find the dragon that took Soo-Won. No matter what, he would rescue the prince.

 

Hak had finally drifted to sleep when a loud noise woke him up. He grabbed his glaive and ran out Hana’s front door, still only in his underclothes. Down at the port, a large building was on fire, and men were rushing around. A foreign-looking boat was in the port.

 

Hana rushed out with a cloak on. “The northern invaders! They’ve returned again!”

 

Hak sprinted towards the port with his glaive in hand. He began knocking out the men with his glaive, swinging it fluidly and taking them down quickly. Once they realized that someone was taking them down, they dispersed.

 

Hak was about to take down the last man in the area from behind when the man spun around with a knife to a girl’s throat. “Drop it, hero, or she’ll regret it.” However, before Hak even had time to react, an arrow shot through the captor’s arm, flinging the knife out of the hand and letting the girl escape. Hak turned to the direction the arrow had fired from, and was amazed to see he recognized the archer. No mistaking that red hair, it was Yona. At her side was a man wearing a decorative mask. In the light from the fire, Hak could see Yona’s face. Her eyes burned with fury. A look he had not expected to see on the girl from earlier.

 

The dark-haired girl who she had rescued stumbled as she neared Hak. He caught her, then steadied her. She didn’t say thanks, and instead approached Yona. Hak took one last look around, and decided that there were no more pillagers in the area, and also walked to Yona. The girl grabbed her ragged dress and curtsied lowly.

 

“Thank you, Miss!” 

 

Yona’s eyes grew kind and she lowered her bow. “Absolutely! I couldn’t just stand by.” Yona smiled, then looked at the men on the ground. “ We should tie those guys up so they can’t cause any trouble.” The silent masked man supplied rope.

 

Yona, Hak, and the masked man tied people up while the dark-haired girl rested. The three of them made quick work of it, then the masked man helped the dark-haired girl stand.

 

“Thank you again so much for saving me, and to you two as well! I’m Lili. Who are you?” Lili? It couldn’t be….

 

Hak didn’t particularly want to tell the strange girl his name, but Yona answered before he said anything. “I’m Yona. This is my friend, Shin-Ah. And this is Hak.”

 

Shin-Ah whispered something into Yona’s ear that Hak couldn’t quite catch. Yona gasped. “I’m sorry, but we have to get headed out now! We’re running very late already!” Yona quickly curtsied and she and Shin-Ah rushed off.

 

Hak and Lili were both noticeably confused but didn’t comment on their strange behavior. Instead, Hak turned towards Lili. “You couldn’t be the missing daughter of Joon-Gi, could you?”

 

Tears pooled in Lili’s eyes. “I’m sure Father has been worried about me. I didn’t mean to hurt him, I just couldn’t marry that jerk. And then I got lost and ended up here.”

 

Hak had seen how upset Joon-Gi had been after Lili’s disappearance and decided to help out his fellow duke.

 

“I’m sure if you came home he would listen to you.” While Hak didn’t necessarily know if that was true, he was sure that Joon-Gi was smart enough to not push her away twice. Probably.

 

Hak didn’t want to put her in danger, but he didn’t have much of a choice but to take her with him. She wasn’t safe here, and he couldn’t send her back alone.

 

“Come with me. We’re not going directly back to the castle, but we should be there soon. Then, you can make amends with Joon-Gi,” Hak explained.

 

Lili looked taken aback for a moment. “Listen, I have no interest in guys like you. Don’t think that you’re going to win my heart.”

 

Hak burst out laughing. “I have no interest in you either. I just am trying to help out my fellow duke.”

 

Lili looked a little embarrassed after Hak’s explanation. “Very well, lead the way.”

 

Hak yawned. “Tomorrow. I’m going to finish trying to sleep.”

 

Of course, the next morning they made the unfortunate realization that Hak’s horse had been stolen.

___

Travelling without Raiden was very strange. Hak missed his steed and hoped that whoever took him was treating him well and feeding him enough.

 

Lili and Hak departed at dawn. Both of them thanked Hana, and she wished them safe travels and Hiryuu’s protection. They approached the mountains. It took until the mid-afternoon for them to reach the base of the closest one in the range. Hak couldn’t imagine having to travel that long only to go to a village as small as the port one. Lili and he began their trip on the lower part of the range. There seemed to be a path in there that was pretty easy to travel. Hak could tell that this was a path that was used a lot.

 

Hak and Lili were taking another break, which he complained about, but she ignored and said a simple, “I’m not used to walking.”

 

When Lili was finally ready to start walking again, Hak heard a noise. Footsteps. It was only one man, but his steps were powerful.

 

Hak made eye contact with Lili and put a finger to his lips. She nodded in understanding.

 

She crouched behind the rock she had been sitting on. Hak held his glaive firmly in his right hand.  A man appeared from behind the trees. He had long green hair in a ponytail and wore foreign clothes. He made eye contact with Hak and smirked. “It looks like you guys are lost. The town’s that way.” He pointed back the way they had come.

 

Hak gripped the staff of his glaive tighter. “It looks like you’re mistaken. We’re going the right way.” 

 

The green-haired man pulled out small blades and threw them with deadly accuracy at Hak. Hak deflected them all. The man looked impressed. “Well, it looks like you know how to use that. However, a beautiful man such as myself has more than one trick up my sleeve.”

 

Hak used the time that the weird guy was making his speech to dash at him and attack with his glaive. The man jumped to dodge, higher than should have been possible. “You’re pretty strong and handsome too!” the man appraised Hak.

 

Hak narrowed his eyes. “And you’re really odd.” The man landed slightly crouched, and Hak rushed at him again. Hak was trying to hit him, but the man kept using his unnaturally large leaps to dodge at the last second. However, Hak could tell that he was starting to get cocky. Well, cockier than he already was. He waited too long to dodge.

 

_ Perfect,  _ Hak thought to himself. He struck the man hard enough to make him fall. He swung his glaive around, pointing the blade directly at the man’s chest.

 

“I give, I give!” the man said with fear. Luckily for him, Hak was a noble and didn’t attack opponents who surrendered. Hak pulled his glaive back, but kept it ready in case the man tried anything.

 

The green haired man smirked a small amount. “You’re a really strong guy aren’t you. And handsome too…. Why are you backing away?” Hak backed up to close where Lili stood.

 

Lili crossed her arms. “It seems you found a pervert, Sir Hak.”

 

“Hmm. For such a pretty lady to call me that,” the strange man began, but Lili cut him off again.

 

“Don’t even try, I’m not interested in boys like you.”

 

“You wound me, I’m a respectable man.”

 

Hak joined back in the conversation. “It’s hard to tell with those droopy eyes and flashy clothes.”

 

The man seemed to have enough with the topic. “Nevermind me, what are you two doing so close to dragon territory?”

 

“You’re not in any position to question us. Besides, aren’t you here too?”  Lili responded.

 

Hak narrowed his eyes. “You belong here, don’t you? The way you jump definitely isn’t human.”

 

“I’d deny it, but you wouldn’t believe me anyway.” He bowed with a flourish. “I’m Jae-Ha, the green dragon, the most handsome man you’ve ever seen, whatever you wish to call me.”

 

“Droopy eyes,” Jae-Ha visibly grimaced at that. “If you’re a dragon, why do you look human?”

 

“This,” he gestured to himself, “is my human form. All dragons have one. It’s how the dragons keep their lives here secret.”

 

Hak raised an eyebrow. “You’re awfully talkative for all this being secret.”

 

“Hmm. It’s because I’ve abandoned my life there and I live as a human now.”

 

Lili decided to interject. “Why did you leave?”

 

Jae-Ha put a hand to his face. “I’d rather live free, as a vagabond, than serve some spoiled brat of a king. I’ve heard that Hiryuu is an airhead and self-centered.”

 

“Hiryuu? Isn’t that just the dragon king?”

 

“You’re not completely wrong. Any dragon can become the king, but only the fire dragon who is a descendant of the original dragon king can claim the title of Hiryuu. He’s our heaven-appointed ruler. We haven’t had a true one in many years. Recently, the line has been all sky dragons. But I’ve heard this one is just a brat. He only cares about the size of his hoard. I love myself, so I couldn’t handle having to personally serve someone who was that self-centered.”

 

“Why would you have to serve him personally if you’ve never even met him?” Lili inquired.

 

“Simple, I’m the oldest and only son of the wind dragon clan, one of the four dragon houses who serve the fire dragon line. The new Hiryuu has been kept in his father’s nest away from everyone because he’s fragile or something. But his father has now passed and he now must gather the four of us to ascend to the throne. So, I told you my story. Why are you two here?”

 

“We’re looking for someone who was taken by a white dragon,” Hak answered.

 

“White dragon? Sounds like the Sky clan.” Jae-Ha grabbed his chin. “But why would he…. This just became interesting. Say, Sir Hak.” Jae-Ha winked at him. “What do you say to having a personal guide to your precious missing person?”

 

Hak wanted to turn him down flat, but a native who was willing to help sounded too good to be true. And Hak knew this guy wasn’t lying. He could be tricky, but he had a honesty in his face that Hak could recognize.

 

“All right, droopy-eyes. I’m Hak and this is Lili. Show us the way.”

 

“Okay, just a warning, I hope you guys don’t mind walking. I’m trying to stay in my human form.” Jae-Ha smiled in his wide, secretive way. “I can tell you two will be a lot of fun.”

 

Hak hoped he hadn’t made a mistake.

**___**

Lili could honestly say that Jae-Ha was an interesting travel companion. He was obnoxious, and switched between flirting with Hak and flirting with Lili constantly, ignoring the fact that the chance of either of them returning the affection was practically zero.\

 

Hak and he often got into fights. Well, if you could call Hak getting exasperated with Jae-Ha and trying to stab him and Jae-Ha laughingly leap out of the way a fight.

 

Lili tried to keep the peace. However, she was cheeky by nature, and often did more harm than good. She was thankful he was with them, though. He requested to stop to eat several times a day. Lili always felt a little bad asking to stop to rest.

 

However, in the two days they traveled to Hiryuu’s nest, Jae-Ha noticeably got quieter and quieter. Then, for seemingly no reason, he clutched his heart and dropped to one knee.

 

“Jae-Ha, what’s wrong.” Lili dropped to her knees beside him.

 

“I can’t take you all the way there. My blood is calling out for him, and I can’t resist it if I get too close. I’ll have to leave the both of you soon.” He stood slowly, taking deep breaths. “I’m fine now. I’ll be better once I put some distance between myself and Hiryuu. We’re bound together by a 1000 year blood oath. Besides, he just got upset again. He is mourning his father’s loss. It’s funny. Even though I didn’t really like the dragon king for his isolationism or his opinions on humans, it’s still saddening when your king dies.”

 

Hak had nothing but respect for Soo-Won’s predecessor, so he couldn’t fully understand what Jae-Ha meant, but he still slowly nodded.

 

Jae-Ha then made a noise of surprise. “It seems that Hiryuu has found two of us. But from the one time I met the white dragon, I’m sure that he is eager to join her.” He then turned back towards Lili and Hak. “I’ll stay with you two as long as I can, but if I have to up and run, don’t take it personally.”

 

At that, they continued onward.

 

As evening approached, Lili’s breathing got noticeably labored. When she fell forward in a coughing fit, Jae-Ha checked her temperature as Hak pulled out his water skin. “She’s burning up. Hold on though, I think I know where we are.” Jae-Ha suddenly leapt onto the trees surrounding the path. He peered into the distance. Then, without warning, he dropped back down.

 

“I know a person who lives pretty close that way.” Jae-Ha pointed north. “I can take her ahead and you catch up with us.” Hak hesitated. He didn’t entirely trust Jae-Ha.

 

“I may love to flirt with beautiful women, but I would never jeopardize the health of one. A handsome man like me doesn’t need to anyways.”

 

“Okay.  Take her ahead and I’ll meet you there.”

 

Jae-Ha winked. “See you there. The kid is a beauty too.” He carefully picked the sick Lili up and leapt across the sky to the north.”

 

“Hmm. That guy.” Hak mumbled to himself, then began his walk to the north.

 

Since there was no path this way, it was more difficult than the way they had been going, but still easy enough to travel.

 

Hak made good time. The sun had barely moved in the sky by the time a small house came into his view from on top of a large hill.

 

Hak could see Jae-Ha standing outside. He approached Jae-Ha. Who grinned when he saw Hak.

 

“Come on and meet my other human friends.” Jae-Ha said, then opened the front door to the house.

 

Inside, Lili was laid on a thick blanket asleep. A blonde boy sat by her side. The boy looked up at Hak with a bored expression, then turned to Jae-Ha. “Only you would find humans that aren’t normal.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

“Obviously, he’s high up in the kingdom. Look at his armor.” The boy responded as he placed a new cloth on Lili’s head. He then stood up and nodded at Hak. “I’m Yoon, the pretty boy genius from these mountains.”

 

“Hak.” He said, watching the boy with curiosity. This kid was unlike anyone he had ever met.

“So, what are two rich people doing up in the mountains with this guy?”

 

“I’m helping them find a white dragon that took their friend.”

“White dragon? You don’t mean Kija?”

 

“Kija?” Hak asked.

 

“Kija is the name of the dragon I’m guessing took your friend. I’m not sure why he would, though. He’s never held any interest in humans. But don’t be too worried about your friend. Kija can’t even kill bugs, much less humans.”

 

“Who is this friend of yours?”

 

“My childhood friend.”

 

“You mean Prince Soo-Won of Kouka right?” A new voice asked.

 

Hak looked to the side to see a blonde man with hair covering his eyes enter. Well, he tripped as he walked through the door and then laugh and rub his hair.

 

“How did you-“

 

“Know? I am one who can see the future.”

 

“Again, Ik-Soo? I told you to stop telling people that when you first meet them or you’ll be arrested for heresy again.”

 

“I knew that these two were trustworthy.”

 

“Well, why would the white dragon come and take the prince?” Hak asked.

 

“That makes even less sense. What would Kija want with a human prince?” Jae-Ha wondered.

 

“As soon as Lili is healed, we can find him and find out.” Hak said.

 

“I just can’t make sense of it. Kija has been devoted to preparing to serve the new Hiryuu . Killing humans or harming them without reason is forbidden. Why would he ruin his dream like that.” Jae-Ha put his hand on his face in thought. “Has your prince done anything to the royal family? That’s the only thing I can think of that would cause this.”

 

“Of course not. The prince has been preparing for his own ascension to the throne. Why would he come here anyways? The dragons have kept to themselves for as long as anyone can remember.”

 

The two quieted. Yoon looked between the two of them, then went to the back room. He stuck his head back through the entrance. “Come on you two, let the girl sleep. I have stew.”

 

The two of them nodded and followed Yoon and Ik-Soo.

 

They were lead to a small kitchen. A pot was gently boiling over a fire in the fireplace.

 

They made meager small talk as Yoon finished cooking. Soon, they were all seated and eating.

 

“Delicious as always, Yoon!” Ik-Soo said happily. Hak agreed, it was one of the best stews he had ever tasted. They continued to eat in silence.

**___**

This pattern continued for another two days. Lili was finally up and about, and would finally be able to begin travelling today. Hak was starting to worry about the time it was taking, but was assured by Jae-Ha that Kija would never harm a human.

 

“Most dragons either don’t care about humans or think of you guys as weaklings we have to protect. I don’t know why Kija took your prince friend but I do know he wouldn’t hurt him.” 

 

Jae-Ha and Hak were outside watching the dawn break.

 

But Hak was still concerned. He and Soo-Won had always been close.

 

Jae-Ha suddenly jerked and looked to the west. “It… can’t be.”

 

Hak turned his head to Jae-Ha. “What is it now?”

 

“I have to leave for a little while. Some people may come looking for me, but tell them I headed to the north.”

 

Hak didn’t even have time to respond before Jae-Ha began leaping to the south east. Hak noticed that his leaps were low to the ground. Not knowing what to expect, Hak grabbed his weapon from where it was leaning on the wall and began heading west where Jae-Ha had looked.

 

Hak walked for about two minutes before he heard another set of footsteps. These steps were very light- a small woman, perhaps, or a child.

 

A woman entered Hak’s line of sight. Hak recognized her bright crimson dress and hair.

 

She recognized him too. She came to a stop in front of him. “Sir Hak, we meet again.” She curtsied and smiled, though he could tell it didn’t reach her eyes.

 

“How are you fairing, Miss?”

 

She clasped her hands and leaned back on her heels. “I’m fine.” She then took a deep breath and began walking towards Yoon and Ik-Soo’s house. “Well, enough about me. How are you fairing, Sir Hak? Have you found the dragons yet?”

 

“In a way, not the one I was looking for though.” He fell into step beside her.

 

“Hmm. I’m guessing you’re still not going to tell me. You seem to be annoying like that.” Hak chuckled at that. “I’m actually looking for someone too now. If you’ve been around here, you may have seen him.” The smoke from Yoon and Ik-Soo’s chimney was visible. “His name is Jae-Ha.” Things suddenly became obvious for Hak.

 

“Don’t tell me… You’re a dragon too?”

 

“Jae-Ha has been around here. Not surprising, I just wished I knew why he won’t come back… But you’re right! I am a dragon too.”

 

“You’re a servant of this Hiryuu fellow too?”

 

Yona looked very surprised, but still answered. “Yes, sort of. What has Jae-Ha told you of Hiryuu?”

 

“Just that he’s a reclusive brat or something.”

 

“I see. It’s true. Well, it used to be before Hiryuu’s mother passed. So that’s why he won’t return. I hope that the new Hiryuu can change his mind when they meet.”

 

“So this Hiryuu guy changed?”

 

Yona nodded. “Hiryuu picked up a human weapon and learned to use it and mingled with humans despite the king’s wishes. He also ridded himself of all his personal treasure and gave it to humans.” Yona laughed. “The king was so mad. It was actually said to be a human that caused the queen’s death. She got into a skirmish with a group of them when flying close to the capital city and they ended up killing her. But, Hiryuu didn’t take that as a reason to hate humans, but instead to try to understand them. The king and Hiryuu fought about it all the time.” Yona got misty eyed. “They never even came to an agreement before the king passed. Hiryuu feels cowardly and weak. As a dragon king, he should have fearlessly gotten his vengeance.”

 

Hak was silent as he followed Yona back to Ik-Soo and Yoon’s. The Hiryuu that Jae-Ha talked about and the Hiryuu that Yona had mentioned seemed to be very different.

 

“That’s very brave of Hiryuu.” Hak finally said. Yona turned and looked at Hak. “Forgiving instead of seeking vengeance. I could never do that.”

 

Yona shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

 

“You’re so mean, Yona. I hope this guy doesn’t love you. You speak lowly of him.”

 

“I don’t have to worry about that.” She said, but Hak ignored her and continued on.

 

“You won’t even address him as anything but Hiryuu. Poor guy.”

 

“No one calls the Hiryuu by their true name. It’s tradition. Only people who Hiryuu trusts with his life are supposed to know his true name. None of the past Hiryuu’s names are known either.

“That’s…”

 

“Strange? Sad? Both are true, but Hiryuu’s reign is supposed to be for the greatness of the dragons, not him as a king. All legends pertaining to Hiryuu could be any Hiryuu, not just the first one.” They arrived at the small house, and Yona stopped. “I know Jae-Ha isn’t here, but I still want to meet his friends.”

 

Yona knocked on the door, and Yoon answered the door.

 

“We’re not running an inn here.” He said and turned around.

 

“I don’t plan on intruding long, I promise! You’re Jae-Ha’s friend’s right?”

 

“I guess you can call us that. He comes and bums off us every once in awhile. Who are you?”

 

“I’m just someone who is looking for him.”

 

“He’s not here.”

 

“I know. But that’s okay. I just wanted to ask if he’s doing well.”

 

“Doing well?”

 

“Yes. He’s been away from his home a really long time. I’m sure he gets lonely out here.”

 

Ik-Soo entered the room from the back holding a small cup.

 

“Hmm. So you’re one of those ‘annoying nagging Hiryuu-worshippers’ he insists are trying to kidnap him or something?” Yoon asked with a bored expression as Ik-Soo loudly choked on his drink.

 

Yona giggled, unoffended. “Something like that.”

 

Ik-Soo looked concerned for the first time Hak had ever noticed.

 

“He’s only joking.”

 

Yona smiled at him. “It’s fine. I’m Yona.” She then curtsied.

 

Ik-Soo looked slightly confused, but bowed anyways. “I’m Ik-Soo, and that’s Yoon.” He gestured to Yoon.

 

“I’m sorry for intruding. I was only looking for Jae-Ha.”

 

At that moment, Lili entered from the kitchen as well. Her face lit up once she saw Yona.

 

She dashed towards her and grabbed her hands, noticeably surprising Yona.

 

“I’m so happy to see you again. Thank you so much for saving me that night.”

 

“It’s fine. Besides, I didn’t do it alone.”

 

“I just hate feeling helpless.”

 

“I used to feel pretty helpless, too. I couldn’t do anything by myself. I still feel that way a lot. But, I’ve found it’s a lot easier to be strong if you have people to rely on.”

 

“Are girls always this mushy?” Yoon commented.

 

“Jae-Ha told me that you cry three times a day.”

 

“I do not! It’s once a week at the most.”

 

Yona wiped her eyes and breathed deeply. “Anyways, I am sorry again to intrude. I should have known that Jae-Ha didn’t want to talk with me. I’m going to be going now.”

 

“Where to?” Lili asked.

 

“To the mountain where Hiryuu lives. The nest of the dragon king.”

 

“That’s where we are going too. We should go together.” Lili said excitedly, then seemed to remember that Hak was there. “If it’s okay with Hak, of course.”

 

Hak personally had no issue with it. He was sure that Yona was a much better travelling companion than Jae-Ha. “Hm. Sure. I want to see if all dragons are as messed up in the head as Jae-Ha.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yona questioned.

 

“Nothing.”

**___**

Yona was a much easier travel partner than Jae-Ha. He assumed it was a dragon quality, but Yona also seemed to need to eat more than normal humans. They stopped every few hours to let her eat, and rest in Lili’s case. Hak couldn’t really complain though.

 

When they stopped that evening for the night, Lili asked a question that Hak couldn’t believe hadn’t occurred to him.

 

“So, Yona, I have a question. You have a dragon form don’t you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why couldn’t you just transform and fly us to Hiryuu’s nest?”

 

Yona looked awkwardly to the side.

 

“We’re not really supposed to let humans see both our human and dragon form. We could be in big trouble. In fact, I’ll probably be in trouble for you guys knowing that I’m a dragon. Humans aren’t even supposed to know we can transform.”

 

“Why though?”

 

“Safety, I think. We’re a lot more venerable in this form. Also, tradition. We typically try to stay in this form unless travelling or in the comfort of our own dwelling places. It helps with architecture too. It’s a lot harder to break things at the dragon king’s nest with this form.”

 

“What is the dragon kings nest?” Hak spoke for the first time.

 

“I could answer that, but you still haven’t answered why you want to find the dragons.”

 

Hak grunted, but answered anyways. “A white dragon took one of my friends. Jae-Ha believes it is a dragon named Kija.”

 

“Kija?” Yona looked quite shocked.

 

“You know him I’m assuming.”

 

“Yes. I met him about a year ago, and we’ve been really close since then. I can’t believe that he would hurt anybody.”

 

“Jae-Ha said something similar.”

 

“Well, like I said, I know Kija personally, so I’ll take you directly to him.”

 

“I answered you, so-“

 

“I’m getting to it, be patient Hak!”

 

Lili immediately started laughing. They both looked at her with confusion.

 

“You two bicker like a married couple.” The mentioned two both turned away from each other in embarrassment at that.

 

Yona composed herself and finally looked to Hak. “The dragon king’s nest, or Hiryuu’s nest as it is currently called, is basically the only dragon city. It’s carved into a mountain. The dragon king resides deep within the same mountain, along with his treasure hoard. It’s a popular place, solely because there is a lot of socialization and work there.”

 

“Treasure hoard?”

 

“I’ll admit it, we’re really bad about collecting pretty or expensive things. It’s something that’s pretty universal among us. Also, we’re really territorial. That’s why the dragon king’s city is the only city of dragons. Does that answer suffice, Sir Hak?”

 

“You can drop the ‘sir’. We’re travelling together now, right.”

 

Yona nodded. “Okay Hak.”

 

Lili noticed that the two sat and quietly talked as she readied herself for bed, and perhaps long after she went to sleep.

 

The next morning, they both had dark circles under their eyes but Lili didn’t notice any other signs of tiredness coming from the two.

 

They continued onwards. On their third morning travelling together, Yona assured them that they were rather close, and so they were.

 

As the sun approached its highest point, they arrived at a cave with a beautifully carved design around the entrance.

 

Yona started looking very nervous. “Please don’t make it too obvious you two are human.”

 

“I’ll try my best to act like I’m Jae-Ha.”

 

“I’ve never met him, but I’m sure from the way you said it that that is a bad thing.”

 

“He’s… very flirtatious.” Lili offered. Yona said nothing, instead they made their way inside. 

 

They walked close to the edges to the path, away from where the most people were at. A few people bowed as they passed.

 

Suddenly, a young looking blonde boy ran up to Yona excitedly while shouting “Young miss!”

 

He slung his arms around her and embraced her tightly. “Zeno was worried about you, since you ran off so quickly. He’s happy to see that you are back though.” His attention then turned to Hak and Lili. “Zeno doesn’t know either of you.”

 

Yona waver her hand towards the two of them. ‘Zeno, these are my friends Hak and Lili.”

 

“Zeno is so happy to meet the young miss’s friends.” He said cheerfully as he pulled them both into a tight hug. Both of them looked slightly unnerved by the close contact with a stranger, but played it off as not bothering them. “Young miss’s human friends?” He continued, looking at Yona.

 

“Yes, they’re here on business. Zeno, where is Kija?”

 

“Zeno’s not surprised you’re looking for him. Zeno thinks he’s in the main treasure room. He came in about a week ago and said he wasn’t going to leave there before you got back. Zeno tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen to Zeno.”

 

“Thank you Zeno.”

 

“No problem Young Miss. Zeno will be going to eat now.” Zeno ran off towards where Yona, Hak, and Lili had just came from.

 

They arrived at a large passageway with strange carving up and down, which Hak assumed was some type of dragon writing.

 

Yona lead the way down the passageway that was only lit by the torchlight from the walls. Soon, they entered into a massive chamber. It was filled with massive amounts of stuff, from books to jewelry to weapons.

 

She stopped quickly. It took Hak three more seconds to realize she stopped because the sound of footsteps. Soon, a man with white skin, hair, and clothes appeared.

 

“Hiryuu!” He yelled and sprinted right towards Yona.

 

She looked kind of embarrassed as she turned to Hak. “I forgot to mention that I’m Hiryuu.”

 

Kija stopped in front of her. “Hiryuu, I have good news! I found the man responsible for the previous king’s death and brought him here for you to deal with.”

 

“Responsible… Deal with him.” Yona muttered. “Kija, what are you talking about?”

 

“The human prince Soo-Won slayed the king and took his heart to present to his subjects.”

___

While Yona was still in shock, Kija grabbed Soo-Won and brought him up. Hak gripped his weapon tightly. He didn’t want to fight Yona-Hiryuu?-, but he had no problem fighting the overgrown white snake.

 

Soo-Won seemed to be in considerably good condition, he didn’t even seem to be hurt badly.

 

Yona stayed silent as Soo-Won called for Hak and as Lili gasped.

 

What broke her silence, however, was Hak springing into action. He ran around her and held his glaive at the ready. Kija barely had time to toss Soo-Won down and prepare for a fight. Hak could tell from less than 10 seconds of fighting that Kija’s strength was his hands. He ignored the girls’ gasps and seriously engaged Kija. Kija seemed to realize pretty quickly that he was fighting an exceptionally skilled fighter. He quickly fell back and clenched his fists as his body began to change. He grew larger and his skin turned scaly and white. Within 5 seconds, the large white dragon from before was right in front of Hak. Hak felt excitement fill his body. He had not had a rematch with a person he had lost to since he was a child in training.

 

Hak clutched his glaive tighter and entered striking range of Kija. He had an advantage this time. 

 

Kija could not escape.

 

Or, at least, he thought he did.

 

He got a few good skin breaking hits on Kija, but then Kija got a very accurate swipe on Hak. Hak went flying and landed in a large bookshelf.

 

The fight continued like this. Hak would get a few good hits on Kija, but Kija’s skin was durable and it seemed it would take a lot deeper hit to actually hurt him enough to keep him from continuing to fight. Then, Kija would get a good hit on Hak. Hak could clearly hear Yona screaming for them both to stop, but he ignored her.

 

It seemed that Yona had seen enough and was going to stop it herself. She cried out as a large red dragon replaced her. Her dragon for was a lot more intimidating than Kija’s. She was sleek, with large horns, and 5 lethal looking spikes on her tail.

 

She quickly approached Hak and Kija. She grabbed Hak, glaive and all, with her right claw. She then head butted Kija hard enough it reverberated off the cavern walls.

 

Hak tried to get out of her grasp without having to cut her while she growled loudly at Kija. 

 

Then, slowly, Kija backed down and began cowering. He slowly reverberated to his human form.

Yona placed Hak down with his glaive still in her claw, and then she too began to shrink.

Yona, in human form, stood beside Hak with his glaive tightly in her grasp. She handed Hak his glaive back and gave him a look that said “Don’t use it.”

 

“Kija, come here.” She said, her voice assertive. Kija approached, looking rather downtrodden.

He got close to her and she dashed forwards and threw her arms around him. He looked surprised for a moment before he returned the embrace. She sniffled and quietly spoke with him. While she stood with Kija, Soo-Won made his way toward Hak. They quickly and silently embraced as well, but Hak kept a close eye on Kija still. After a minute, Kija and Yona released their embrace.

 

Yona turned towards Soo-Won. “You killed my father. You say he killed yours. I don’t know if I actually believe that. Most dragon customs say I should kill you in retribution.” Tears gathered in Yona’s eyes. “However, I have never killed a person. And I never plan to if I believe that they aren’t a bad person. So, I won’t get retribution. All I ask is that you give back my father’s heart. I can’t bear the thought of starting a war and more people getting hurt when I can avoid it.”

 

Soo-Won knew better than to do anything but nod.

 

Yona then turned to Hak. “Kija will escort you back as his apology. He will also get my father’s heart. Good day, King Soo-Won.”

 

Yona walked away from them, tears spilling over from her eyes.

__

An hour later, Hak, Lili, and Soo-Won were about to depart. At the insistence of Lili, she and Hak were going to say farewell to Yona. Yona was higher up on the mountain overlooking the valley. Her eyes were red, but she was no longer crying.

 

They stood in silence for a minute, before Lily asked “Why did you not tell us you were Hiryuu?”

 

Yona smiled sadly. “It was nice to be Yona instead of Hiryuu, another incarnation of the line of legendary dragon kings. So I wanted to keep it to myself as long as I could. I had fun with you two though. I can’t believe I lived my entire life without the warmth of a friend.”

 

“We both had a lot of fun with you too.” Lili said.  Hak grunted in agreement.

 

“So, Yona, what are you going to do now?”

 

“Well, try to get in contact with Jae-Ha again. I think he’s went south and is now below the capital city of Kuuta. I have to have the four descendants of each tribe it’s tradition.” There was silence for a moment, then, “If it’s okay, I’ll come visit you both when I pass through.”

 

“I live in the Water County in the southeast.” Lili said. “And Hak lives in the Wind County in the southwest.”

 

“I’ll see you both then. But, besides finding Jae-Ha, I am not sure. There’s always something new to do, and I’m sure once I’m officially the dragon king, it’ll be impossible to go on a sightseeing tour.”

 

They stood in silence a few more minutes, until Zeno called to them that Kija was ready to leave.

 

Kija, escorted by Zeno, headed back towards Kuuta. Yona watched them disappear into the distance with Shin-Ah by her side as dusk approached.

 

“Human are really interesting.” Yona hummed.

 

Shin-Ah nodded silently.

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of an up in the air ending, I'll probably write one-shots in the future.


End file.
